Your details, and what we do with them.
This study only works if people trust it. So here is plainly what we collect, why we collect it, and what we will never do with it.
Last updated 10 September 2026 · Parallel Economy NZ
01What we collect
Two separate things, kept apart from each other:
When you join the notification list
- Your name — so emails don’t read like spam.
- Your email address — so we can send you the survey and the report.
- Your stage — the “I am…” option you pick, so we can tell you when the survey is relevant to you.
When you complete the survey
- Your answers to the survey questions.
- Basic technical data your browser sends automatically, such as approximate region and device type, used only to check for duplicate or automated submissions.
We do not ask for, and do not want, your IRD number, bank details, customer lists, or any other sensitive financial information.
02Why we collect it
We collect your contact details because you asked us to — you entered them into the form to receive the survey and the report. We use them for exactly three emails a year:
- the survey link when it opens,
- the preliminary findings, and
- the full report when it’s published.
Occasionally we may email you about the study itself — a deadline extension, a correction, or the following year’s survey. We do not send marketing for other products, and we don’t email on behalf of sponsors.
03Survey responses
Survey answers are reported only in aggregate. No individual response is ever published, quoted with your name attached, or shown to a sponsor or partner.
Where we quote a written comment in the report, it is anonymised and stripped of any detail that could identify you or your business. If a group in the data is too small to report without effectively identifying someone, we don’t break it out.
Your survey answers are stored separately from the notification list, so the analysis dataset does not carry your name or email alongside it.
05Storage and security
Because we use standard email and survey services, your information may be stored on servers outside New Zealand. We only use providers that commit to protections comparable to the Privacy Act 2020.
Access is limited to the people running the study, accounts are protected with multi-factor authentication, and we don’t keep copies of the list on personal devices or spreadsheets.
06How long we keep it
- Notification list: until you unsubscribe, or after two consecutive annual cycles with no engagement — whichever comes first.
- Survey responses: retained in anonymised form as part of the historical dataset, so year-on-year comparisons remain possible.
- Anything identifying: deleted once the report for that cycle is published.
07Your rights
Under the Privacy Act 2020 you can ask us to:
- tell you what information we hold about you,
- correct anything that’s wrong,
- delete your details entirely, or
- stop emailing you — every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.
Email hello@paralleleconomy.nz and we’ll action it within 20 working days, usually much sooner. If you’re not happy with how we’ve handled a privacy issue, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
09Changes to this note
If we change how we handle your information, we’ll update this page and change the date at the top. If the change is significant, we’ll say so in the next email rather than quietly amending the page.
10Contact us
The report is run by Rachel Mills, founder of Side Hustles NZ and the Parallel Economy Report. For anything privacy-related, email hello@paralleleconomy.nz.